April Fool – Tom Gilbert, Keep It Green Coalition

He Can’t Stop Lying on Open Space Disaster

***On the Open Space funding issue, Gov. Christie is right

[*** only with respect to restoring $20 million to parks & NR staff in FY’16 DEP budget]

I was just forwarded this NJTV piece on the open space debate, just in time for April Fools:

Previously the funds came through bonds and borrowing. But the amendment didn’t specify how the money should be doled out. So when Christie proposed using 25 percent of it to pay for staff salaries at state parks — money that typically comes out of the general fund — Gilbert’s group, NJ Keep It Green, started speaking up.

“So that was not the intent of the funds that these voters approved,” Gilbert said.

What a lying hypocrite.

What Gilbert won’t tell the media is that previously, the CBT funds supported State Parks, a multitude of DEP clean water programs, and toxic site cleanup.

According to the OLS fiscal note:

Current Constitutional Dedication

The current constitutional dedication of 4% of the CBT revenue helps pay for water resources programs and projects, polluted site cleanups, underground tank removal and cleanup, air pollution equipment for diesel engines, and improvements to parks. Specifically, the Constitution now allocates the moneys from the dedication as follows:

(1) 15% for water resources programs and projects;

(2) 25% for hazardous substance discharge remediation programs (“brownfields,” for example), unless the previously dedicated underground storage tank fund balances fall below $20 million in a fiscal year, then 55% of the 25% allocation must be appropriated for underground storage tank programs the following year;

(3) 28% for hazardous substance discharge cleanup performed by the State (“publicly funded cleanups”);

(4)  17% for diesel air pollution control programs until December 31, 2015; and

(5)  15% for financing improvements and facilities for recreation and conservation purposes on parks and other preserved open space lands.

Further, under the current constitutional dedication, on January 1, 2016 the 17% allocation for diesel air pollution control programs (#4 above) expires and the moneys are reallocated to supplement the 15% dedication for financing improvements and facilities for recreation and conservation purposes on parks and other preserved open space lands, thereby increasing the dedication allocation for that purpose to a total of 32%

The KIG Open Space ballet question TOOK ALL THAT MONEY!

The KIG Crew still won’t tell the truth about what their Open Space Ballot initiative did and the chaos it created.

So, Mr. Gilbert is now talking about the intent of the voters? And he is complaining about lack of parks capital funding?

How does he have the balls to complain about that? He stole that parks money!

Did the voters intend to take all state park capital funds?

Did the voters intend to take all the state park lease and concession funds, a significant source of total funding?

Did the voters intend to slash clean water and toxic site cleanup programs and cut 300 positions at DEP?

Oh what a tangled web we weave ….